A very striking and unusual composition brings a survival story to this narrative work of maritime art by Anton Otto Fischer. The moment of rescue is yet to be made, with Herculean efforts expended to save a life. The Barque STORMY PETR...of Glasgow holds the horizon line, while five able bodied sailors make for the unfortunate, a tossed life ring floating near-by.
Synchronizing the effort, a fist-pumping man inspires his row boat crew to pull at the oars in an effort to reach someone apparently fallen overboard from the sailing barque. The warm sky above the frothy blue ocean is a hopeful sign that a person could stay afloat, but unprepared for the cold and power of the sea, they'd be in mortal peril. The crew on the ship is frantically trying to reef sails and hold the fast-sailing ship to a close distance to the rescuers.
Fischer's sense of drama and implied action is in keeping with the best of the illustrator artists; he strives to not give the whole story away, but to project a sense of what is about to occur. His humans are realistic, and he works a color tonality to emphasize their muscular builds and the rise of the white-capped swells. The concern of those still onboard is apparent, as well as the care the artist took to depict the event.
